Competency differences in interpreting ECG strips among medical students, interns, and family medicine residents

Mada Alsadi; Amjad M. Ahmed; Sarah Almousa; Elan Homoud; Reem Almutairi; Bodour Alkhalifah; Sulaiman A. Alshammari; Haitham Alanazi

doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1667904171

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Original Article
Online Published: 28 Nov 2022

IJMDC. 2023; 7(1): 94-101

doi: 10.24911/IJMDC.51-1667904171

Competency differences in interpreting ECG strips among medical students, interns, and family medicine residents

Mada Alsadi, Amjad M. Ahmed, Sarah Almousa, Elan Homoud, Reem Almutairi, Bodour Alkhalifah, Sulaiman A. Alshammari, Haitham Alanazi.

Abstract
Background: The 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) is a critical screening and diagnostic tool that identifies cardiovascular abnormalities and fatal cardiac emergencies. This study aimed to identify whether there was a competency difference in interpreting ECG strips between medical students, interns, and family residents.
Methods: A cross-sectional, single-center study was conducted at a tertiary healthcare facility and its academic institution. Participants completed a self-administered data collection sheet comprising a demographic sheet and 10 ECG traces to assess their ECG knowledge. Each ECG had the same nine multiple-choice questions about the basic ECG parameters. Each correct answer was assigned a 1-point score (minimum, 0; maximum, 90) per participant.
Results: There were 93 participants; of which 54 (58.1%) were medical students. Medical students had a significantly higher mean score (84.7 ± 9.5) than medical interns (73.4 ± 12.9, p < 0.001) and family medicine residents (58.2 ± 18.0, p < 0.001). Lectures were reported as the most effective modality of ECG teaching among 38 medical students (70.4%) and 9 residents (75.0%). Female family medicine residents had a higher mean score compared to their male colleagues (p = 0.04). Previous ECG exposure did not equate with better scores.
Conclusion: There was a significant difference in the competency of ECG interpretation. The mean score of the family residents was the lowest with the medical students scoring the highest. Lectures were rated as the most effective method of learning ECG interpretation. More intensive ECG training in family residency programs is recommended.

Key words: Interpreting ECG, competency of medical students, interns, family medicine residents.

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Pubmed Style

Alsadi M, Ahmed AM, Almousa S, Homoud E, Almutairi R, Alkhalifah B, Alshammari SA, Alanazi H. Competency differences in interpreting ECG strips among medical students, interns, and family medicine residents. IJMDC. 2023; 7(1): 94-101. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1667904171

Web Style

Alsadi M, Ahmed AM, Almousa S, Homoud E, Almutairi R, Alkhalifah B, Alshammari SA, Alanazi H. Competency differences in interpreting ECG strips among medical students, interns, and family medicine residents. https://www.ijmdc.com/?mno=128255 [Access: June 27, 2026]. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1667904171

AMA (American Medical Association) Style

Alsadi M, Ahmed AM, Almousa S, Homoud E, Almutairi R, Alkhalifah B, Alshammari SA, Alanazi H. Competency differences in interpreting ECG strips among medical students, interns, and family medicine residents. IJMDC. 2023; 7(1): 94-101. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1667904171

Vancouver/ICMJE Style

Alsadi M, Ahmed AM, Almousa S, Homoud E, Almutairi R, Alkhalifah B, Alshammari SA, Alanazi H. Competency differences in interpreting ECG strips among medical students, interns, and family medicine residents. IJMDC. (2023), [cited June 27, 2026]; 7(1): 94-101. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1667904171

Harvard Style

Alsadi, M., Ahmed, . A. M., Almousa, . S., Homoud, . E., Almutairi, . R., Alkhalifah, . B., Alshammari, . S. A. & Alanazi, . H. (2023) Competency differences in interpreting ECG strips among medical students, interns, and family medicine residents. IJMDC, 7 (1), 94-101. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1667904171

Turabian Style

Alsadi, Mada, Amjad M. Ahmed, Sarah Almousa, Elan Homoud, Reem Almutairi, Bodour Alkhalifah, Sulaiman A. Alshammari, and Haitham Alanazi. 2023. Competency differences in interpreting ECG strips among medical students, interns, and family medicine residents. International Journal of Medicine in Developing Countries, 7 (1), 94-101. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1667904171

Chicago Style

Alsadi, Mada, Amjad M. Ahmed, Sarah Almousa, Elan Homoud, Reem Almutairi, Bodour Alkhalifah, Sulaiman A. Alshammari, and Haitham Alanazi. "Competency differences in interpreting ECG strips among medical students, interns, and family medicine residents." International Journal of Medicine in Developing Countries 7 (2023), 94-101. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1667904171

MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style

APA (American Psychological Association) Style

Alsadi, M., Ahmed, . A. M., Almousa, . S., Homoud, . E., Almutairi, . R., Alkhalifah, . B., Alshammari, . S. A. & Alanazi, . H. (2023) Competency differences in interpreting ECG strips among medical students, interns, and family medicine residents. International Journal of Medicine in Developing Countries, 7 (1), 94-101. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1667904171

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